Image analysis suggests Nkorea boosting uranium stocks

SEOUL: Fresh satellite images suggest North Korea is expanding its uranium extraction capacity, possibly with a view to increasing its stockpile of weapons-grade fissile material, according to a leading non-proliferation expert. The images show Pyongyang has begun to refurbish a major mill that turns uranium ore into yellowcake — a first step towards enriched uranium, said Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. The analysis comes days after experts at IHS Jane’s said separate satellite images suggested North Korea was operating a second hall of uranium enrichment centrifuges at Yongbyon. North Korea has staged three successful nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013.